December 14, 2018 10.32 am This story is over 72 months old

Council “to be an example” in the fight against plastic

Time to act is now
Examples of single-use plastics.

Council bosses at North East Lincolnshire Council want to act “as an example to others” in the fight against single-use plastics.

It followed a call for the review of the amount of waste used by the local authority due to pollution concerns, led by councillor Kay Rudd and unanimously supported by all councillors.

Councillor Rudd asked the council to replace the use of plastics with sustainable and reusable alternatives, while also write to the Secretary of State to support any legislation and regulation to tackle plastic pollution.

Supporting the motion, executive member for environment, transport and energy, Councillor Matthew Patrick said: “Many forms of plastic have little or no biodegradable properties. In short, it has no place in nature and all of us need to recognise and react to this.

“This is a motion beyond politics. We need to act, not just for the benefit of our community, but as an example to others.”

North East Lincolnshire Full Council meeting.

He raised concerns that five million tonnes of plastic consumed a year by UK alone and said this was more concerning due to the beach five minutes walk away.

In North East Lincolnshire he said almost all plastic waste is recycled or incinerated but beyond that he said was domestic waste and millions of tonnes going to landfill.

Councillor Stephen Harness said there needed to be a “drastic change” in attitudes while Councillor Gaynor Rogers added: “this is a disaster playing out in front of our eyes and we need action.”

The move comes as public support for tackling plastic pollution has grown following David Attenborough’s BBC documentary series Blue Planet II.

Members of European Parliament supported a complete ban on a range of single use plastics across the union following the programme.

The ban is expected to come into effect across each nation in the European Union by 2021.

It means, should the directive pass before the end of a Brexit transition period, the UK will also have to adopt the ban.

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